The present disclosure relates to systems and methods as used to manipulate delicate tissue during surgical procedures, and more particularly, to the manipulation of retinal tissue during an ophthalmic surgical procedure.
Among the many conditions that can afflict a patient's eye are retinal detachment and/or tearing. A detached retina is a condition in which the retina of an eye, which is normally attached at the back of the eye, peels away from the back of the eye. This can cause vision problems including blindness. In order to reattach the retina, surgery may be required. During a procedure, the retina may be manipulated back into position against the back of the eye. However, retinal tissues are easily damaged during manipulation. Current approaches to manipulate and reposition a detached retina include grasping, squeezing, and manipulating the retina with internal limiting membrane (ILM) forceps. However, this approach may concentrate excessive pressure on the retinal tissues. Other approaches, such as the use of backflush soft tip instruments do not provide the ability to grasp tissue. Thus, the current approaches may cause additional damage to the detached retina during the reattachment process due to the high surface pressure of such forceps.
Therefore, there remains a need for an improved systems and methods for manipulating retinal tissue. The present disclosure is directed to addressing one or more of the deficiencies in the prior art.